Nonstop flight route between Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PDL to RCA:
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- About this route
- PDL Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about PDL
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to PDL
- List of Nearest Airports to PDL
- Map of Furthest Airports from PDL
- List of Furthest Airports from PDL
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between João Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,911 miles (or 6,295 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between João Paulo II Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between João Paulo II Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PDL / LPPD |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°44'30"N by 25°41'52"W |
Area Served: | Ponta Delgada |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 259 feet (79 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PDL |
More Information: | PDL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Facts about João Paulo II Airport (PDL):
- The furthest airport from João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to João Paulo II Airport (meaning João Paulo II Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
- The closest airport to João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSE of PDL.
- Because of João Paulo II Airport's relatively low elevation of 259 feet, planes can take off or land at João Paulo II Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- João Paulo II Airport (PDL) currently has only 1 runway.
- João Paulo II Airport handled 928,801 passengers last year.
- It has scheduled domestic flights to all islands of the Azores, plus Madeira and the mainland.
- Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Horta and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.
- In addition to being known as "João Paulo II Airport", another name for PDL is "Aeroporto João Paulo II".
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
- The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
- Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
- To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
- The closest airport to Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of RCA.
- The furthest airport from Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,579 miles (17,026 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".